A typical loading dock of a building includes an exterior doorway with an elevated platform for loading and unloading cargo from vehicles, such as trucks and trailers. Loading docks often include a dock leveler to compensate for a height difference that may exist between a loading dock platform and an adjacent bed of the vehicle. Dock levelers typically include a deck with a front edge that can be raised or lowered to the approximate height of the truck bed. An extension plate or lip may extend outward from the deck's front edge to span the gap between the rear of the truck bed and the front edge of the deck, thereby providing a path that allows personnel and material handling equipment to readily move on and off the truck bed during loading and unloading operations.
In some known examples, the dock leveler includes a deck and/or lip that could pivot or translate as the dock leveler moves to its various positions. Such positions might include a cross-traffic position where the deck is substantially flush with the platform, an operative position where the deck and lip provide a bridge between the platform and the vehicle bed, an end-loading position where the lip is off the vehicle bed while the deck is either above, level with or below the bed, or various other positions. Moreover, certain dock leveler operations require the deck or lip to be in specific positions or ranges of positions. While a human operator can observe whether the leveler components are in such positions, it may also be desirable to automate leveler operations without the need for a human operator. Even in the absence of such automation, accurate determination of the position of leveler components throughout their range of motion could be used for other beneficial purposes such as, for example, providing signaling of leveler status or the presence or absence of safe loading conditions.